G-8 to reduce RI's debt

G-8 to reduce RI's debt

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) has
urged the leaders of rich countries in the Group of Eight (G-8)
to scrap the debt of the world's poorest nations, including
Indonesia.

INFID said in a press statement issued on Tuesday that one
feasible way was to provide an immediate debt cancellation
facility without attaching any conditions such as trade
liberalization and the privatization of state-owned assets.

It said such a facility should not only be given to Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), but also to non-HIPC countries
such as Indonesia, so that these poor countries could
significantly reduce the number of people living in poverty as
envisaged under the Millennium Development Goals.

The statement was issued as leaders of the G-8 nations prepare
for a summit in Scotland on Wednesday, the key issues of which
include developing antipoverty programs.

INFID said the G-8 countries should increase aid to poor
countries to at least 0.7 percent of their gross national income,
and help create a fair global trading system by, among other
measures, eliminating subsidies given by governments to farmers
in the developed nations.

"For Indonesia, debt reduction is a must in order for the
country to achieve poverty reduction as set out under the
Millennium Development Goals," the statement said.

It said, in 2004 the total debt repayment made by Indonesia to
its foreign creditors surpassed the amount of official
development assistance (ODA) provided by foreign donors.

INFID director Ivan Hadar said that the huge size of the
country's foreign debt of US$134 billion gave little room for
carrying out development programs.

The group also urged the government to work together with the
foreign creditors to deal with the problem of debt held by the
country, which was hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami.